Pickles and Ice Cream and Tears, Oh My!
by grimmkittylove
Summary: Yuan tells Chala about Raine's first pregnancy, in hopes of helping her deal with this new one. Gift fic for freakanimegal456, although it's a little late for Christmas. Sheelos, Yuaine. Rated T because that's what freaky's stories are.


**Pickles and Ice Cream and Tears, Oh My!**

A **Tales of Symphonia Fanfic** by _Silverstar's Shadow_

xOx

**Silver**: Hello! This is a gift fic for freakanimegal456 (sorry I didn't get it finished for Christmas! Meep) in case you didn't read the summary. This idea popped into my head-

**Yuan**: Great.

**Silver**: TT Shut up, you. Anyways, Chala and Trethe are both fifteen, therefore Raine and Sheena were pregnant at the same time… dun dun dun!

**Yuan**: -crosses arms- You'll be lucky to escape writing this alive, if Raine or Sheena finds out…

**Silver**: I know. Say the declaimer, please.

**Yuan**: Shocking. Some actual civility from you. I think it must be the bug that's been going around… Silver does not own us or our world (thank the gods) or any of freakanimegal456's various OCs.

xOx

Midnight was probably Chala's favorite time of day. Normally, she was the only one awake, and it was a time she could use to reflect her thoughts. On what, you ask? Anything she damn well wanted to think about, of course.

But tonight was different. Tonight, she was actually considering asking if she could move in with the Aurions. Because tonight, her mother had gone insane.

Raine had Yuan running all around the worlds, trying desperately to find a food market that was open at this ungodly hour, and was moaning and groaning about the lack of edible food in the kitchen. Chala was holed up in her room, but she could still hear her mother screaming curses at an absent Yuan.

Chala sighed and flung herself down on the bed dramatically, though she had no audience to appreciate her performance. This baby was not only going to steal her parents away, but it was going to drive her father over the edge after her mother before long.

She vaguely heard Yuan arrive, and whatever he'd brought was apparently enough to satisfy Raine's outrageous appetite, because the noise grew less, until she heard one set of footsteps move towards the bedroom. Her mother's soft snores filled the air not long after, and Chala deemed it safe to venture out of her cave.

Yuan was sitting on the couch, staring distantly at the wall opposite him. Chala silently sat down next to her father, and sighed quietly. He looked over, and smiled tiredly.

"Chala."

"Father."

"Couldn't sleep?"

She gave him the look. "What with the racket Mother was making, I'm surprised you're still alive. What did she want this time?"

"Marshmallows and green beans.."

"That's… new."

"Was she this bad when it was me?"

"When she was pregnant with you, she demanded that I keep up a nine month supply of jalapeño peppers and grape juice. It was your mother and Sheena, pregnant at the same time for a few months, to make it even worse. Zelos and I actually had something in common for that time. It was rather odd, really…

. : - : .

"_YUAN!"_

"_**ZELOS**__!"_

"_Impressive, Sheena."_

"_Why thank you Raine."_

"_They should be here right… about… now."_

_A redhead and a bluenette came running in, looking wildly around the room._

"_What is it, dear?" _

"_What can I get my precious hunny today?" SMACK!_

"_I'm your wife, you nitwit, still not a hunny!"_

_Raine was unperturbed by the display the other couple were giving and looked straight to her husband. "You need to go to the store, and get me Pringles and boysenberry ice cream."_

"_Pickles, and vanilla," Sheena commanded._

"_Very original, aren't we, Sheena?" Yuan smirked._

"_Why, you- well, I guess you're right. But I want my pickles and ice cream!"_

"_Right-o, Sheena, my love."_

"_I'll be back in a few." The two men made their escape._

"_If I had known she'd get this bad, I never would have spiked her wine at that party," Zelos declared to Yuan as they ran for their Rheairds._

"_Serves you right. At least we agreed on the whole kids thing. But I don't think I ever want to do this again."_

"_Ten-four, good buddy."_

_Yuan stared at the redhead for a minute. "What the hell was that?"_

. : - : .

_**Back at the Wilder home…**_

"_Ooh, I like this one. 'Lourel.'" Raine flipped the page of the baby name catalogue._

"_Sounds good… for a boy. Didn't you say it was going to be a girl?"_

"_Most likely. But if I do end up having a little boy, his name shall be Lourel."_

"_Why not Yuan, Jr.?"_

"… _Ahahahahahahah! Now that's funny!"_

"_Humph. I was just trying to help."_

"_Would you name your child Zelos, Jr.?"_

"_Point taken." She winced. " What about a girl? What will you name her?"_

"_Hmmm… I like the name Sabelle. Or perhaps Josephine."_

_Sheena spit out her coffee. "JOSEPHINE? Are you nuts? That poor girl…"_

_Raine crossed her arms and glared at the ninja. "Oh, and what would you name a little girl of yours?"_

"_Andraya. Or maybe Shayna."_

"… _Cute."_

"_Thank you."_

_The men walked in at that moment, bearing gifts and bribes. Sheena stood up immediately and ambushed her husband._

"_Where are my pickles, Zelos?"_

_The ex-Chosen held up the bag containing her food items of choice. "Right here, love. Want me to dish them for you?"_

_The raven-haired woman shook her head and grabbed the sack from her spouse, digging through it to get to the jar of pickles. "Hey, I didn't tell you to get these…" she held up a set of black, lacy lingerie. She shrugged. "It's not like I'll be using them for another four months." Zelos' jaw dropped._

"_W-wh-wha-what?"_

"_You heard me."_

_**Meanwhile…**_

_Raine and Yuan cuddled up on the couch, reading the baby catalog._

"_What do you think about Lourel?"_

"_Maybe. Didn't you say you were having a girl?"_

"_Yes, but I want to be prepared."_

"_Lourel is a fine name."_

"_I was thinking Sabelle, or Josephine for a girl."_

_Yuan copied Sheena's earlier action of spitting out coffee. "What?"_

"_Oh, so you don't like my names either?"_

"… _They're fine names, darling, I just think-"_

"_It's alright." She went quiet._

"…_I'm sure we'll know when the time is right."_

"_Yes, I'm sure."_

. : - : .

Chala wrinkled her nose in disgust. "My name was going to be Josephine?"

"I never would have let you mother call you either of those names. Luckily, I was the one who filled out the birth certificate."

"Thank you, Father."

Yuan nodded, pleased. "Now, where was I? Oh, yes…

. : - : .

_Sheena's squeal of delight signaled that she'd found her pickles, and Raine's stomach growled noisily._

_The professor stood up, stretched, and made her way to the kitchen. After digging through the icebox twice, she sighed in frustration. "YUAN!"_

"_Yes, Raine?"_

"_Where is my food?" He held up a bag, and closed his eyes as she rushed at him. Raine snatched the sack from his hand, and tore it open. After compiling a plate of her chips and ice cream (and stuffing it down her throat happily), she smiled contentedly._

"_I can't wait for this baby to come."_

"_Neither can I," the bluenette muttered, casting a quick glance at his wife to make sure she hadn't heard. She was still focused on her food, and Yuan breathed a quick sigh of relief._

. : - : .

"**ZELOS JAMES WILDER!**_ YOU WILL _PAY_ FOR DOING THIS TO ME, DO YOU HEAR ME??? _**YOU WILL PAY**_!"_

"_Someone's in a bad mood," Raine noted to her husband, who was sitting beside her in the waiting room of the hospital._

"_You would be too-- you _will _be, soon." He smiled and patted her now very swollen stomach. She put her hand over his and smiled back._

_Sheena screeched more profanities at her husband, who was undoubtedly cringing. Yuan wondered idly how long Zelos would last, or if he'd pass out before they managed to name the kid. When he expressed this to Raine, his wife laughed so hard he started to get concerned._

_The ninja stopped screaming. The half-elves looked at each other, wondering whether it was because the baby'd finally made its entrance into the world, or if Sheena had finally blown out her vocal chords. A nurse came out into the waiting room._

"_It's a boy. The parents have requested that Lloyd, Colette, Kratos, Yuan, Raine, Presea, Genis, and Regal be allowed into the room for the naming."_

_The Regeneration heroes stood up and in a tangled mess of limbs, made their way into the room where an exhausted Sheena and a nearly deaf Zelos sat with a bundle of black hair and pale skin held securely in his mother's arms._

"_This is Trethe," Sheena rasped, all the screaming having a damaging effect on her throat. Zelos smiled proudly and squeezed her hand._

. : - : .

"Your birth wasn't nearly as dramatic. Your mother didn't try to kill me, and not everyone was there. Just Raine, Genis, Virginia, and me. You did put up quite a fight, though. It took you nearly sixteen hours to finally decide that you wanted to make a memorable appearance…

"She burst into tears as soon as the nurse put you in her arms, and I had to fill out your certificate. I asked her if Chala was an acceptable name, and she sobbed harder and said it was perfect."

Chala smiled slightly. "I'm just glad it wasn't Josephine. I'd never have forgiven you."

"She almost made me give it to you as a middle name."

"I'm glad you stayed strong."

"We compromised. That's why you don't have one."

"I'd wondered."

A stair creaked, and a tired-looking Raine crept down the stairs. Both blunettes looked up when she made her way into the living room.

"What are you two doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep," Chala said without batting an eye.

"I was just telling her about your pregnancy with her," Yuan said, glancing at his wife quickly. "I suppose I might have gotten carried away. What time is it, anyway?"

"Nearly three. But don't let me interrupt. I just came down for more marshmallows." Raine beamed at her husband and daughter. "I'll go right back up."

The two on the couch waited until the silver-haired woman took her food and made her way back up the stairs. Yuan sighed in relief when he heard the door close, and Chala gave him a knowing smirk.

"Afraid she was going to send you back out?"

"Yes," he answered bluntly. "I'm not sure I could have taken it if she were in a worse mood. Consider yourself lucky."

"I do." She paused slightly. "This new baby's going to take up a lot of your time, isn't it?"

Yuan didn't miss the worry and jealousy Chala had tried so hard to emit from her tone. "It will. But you have no need to worry, Chala," he added seriously. "You're still our firstborn. You'll always be just as special as the new baby. Never forget that."

"…"

"I mean it, Chala."

"I know." She sighed.

Her father stared skeptically at her. "Do you really, Chala? Because I get the feeling that you don't really believe me."

"I know you won't mean for it to happen. But this new kid's going to be so cute, and so sweet, and everything in a kid that you never got from me, and you'll forget that you ever said that. I know that. And it's fine."

"How do you know the baby won't be just the way you think you are?"

"That's not the way babies are."

"How do you know? The only newborn you've ever known was Jeremy, and he was even quieter than he is now."

Chala gaped at him, and then shut her mouth with a glare. "I just know."

Yuan smiled sympathetically at her, and shook his head. "I'm sure. Just keep what I said in mind, okay?"

"…Alright." She stood, and turned back to look at her father. "I think I'm going to bed now."

"Goodnight, Chala."

As she climbed the stairs, Chala finally got her chance to think. A part of her agreed with her father, but she'd never, ever admit it. The other part still stubbornly clung to the idea that they'd forget all about her, and kept repeating that it would be fine with her.

The bluenette slipped into her room, but instead of getting in bed, she went over to the window, and stared up at the moon. She soon lost herself in her thoughts, and didn't even notice as the moon inched its way down towards the horizon. When the first ray of sun broke the through the mist she jumped at the light. Had she really stayed awake all night?

A few moments later, she'd sunken back into her stupor. After maybe five minutes (or had it been an hour?) Raine stuck her head in. The younger half-elf turned to the source of the creaking wood, and her mother smiled guiltily.

"I was just wondering if you were up. Can I come in?"

Chala gave a noncommittal grunt, which Raine obviously took as a yes. The silver-haired professor quietly stepped inside.

"I've sent your father out for spiced rice and jelly beans." Chala winced. Raine laughed. "I'm not going to eat them, really. I just wanted him to leave so I could talk to you."

"…Why?"

"Because I thought you might need it. Were you up all night?" Chala nodded. "I see. Is there anything you wanted to say to me before I start?"

"If this is about me not needed to worry about the baby replacing me, Father already talked to me about it last night."

"Did he now? What did he tell you?"

"That I don't need to worry about it, because I'm your firstborn and will always be just as special," she recited in a monotone.

"And what did you say?"

"That it doesn't matter, because I'd be fine anyways."

"You don't need to lie to me, Chala. I know you wouldn't be fine. You would definitely pretend to be, but you would know and I would know that you weren't. But you truly don't need to worry. Nothing could ever take your place. You're unique, and nothing could ever be the same."

"…" Chala pressed her mouth into a firm line, and narrowed her eyes in calculation. When she opened it to speak, she was interrupted by her father's irritated yell up the stairs.

"The candy store in Luin did not have jellybeans, nor did Sybak, Palmacosta, or Meltokio."

"That's alright, dear! I didn't really need them anyway!" the silver-haired half-elf called back.

'Where are you?"

"Chala's room." Their daughter put one hand over her face.

The Seraph appeared in the doorway a moment later. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, come in," Raine said, before Chala had time to make a sarcastic remark. Yuan seemed to notice this, and gave Chala a stern look before returning his gaze to his wife. "We were just discussing your conversation last night."

"Ah. What did she tell you?"

"That you'd already reassured her that we couldn't replace her with the new baby if we wanted to."

"That is correct."

Chala tuned out the rest of their conversation, and barely even noticed when they stopped talking and looked at her to say something. She simply nodded and returned her gaze out the window. Her parents took one last look before slipping out the door. They were right, and she'd already grudgingly admitted it to herself. But they didn't have to know.

She smirked a minute later when Yuan's incredulous voice rang around the house. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WEREN'T GOING TO EAT THEM ANYWAY?"

xOx

Silver: There you go. Now, I'd better hide from them…

Sheena, Raine, and Chala: Get her!

Silver: Meep! Read and review, please! And f you have time, vote in my poll! I've got a tie that needs breaking, but I've already voted.

Much love,

Silver


End file.
